5 October 2024

Since the Sappi wetlands is out of commission as far as birding is concerned and has been my go-to spot for hosting my annual bird club walk, I thought Sunhill farm would be an appropriate alternative for this year’s bird walk. Sunhill Farm is situated inland from Shakas Rock on the North Coast. The farm is a Macadamia farm and has a variety of habitats which makes it an ideal place for a birding outing. 

Entrance Gate (Ronnie Herr)

The farmer, Mr. Adrian Reynolds, is extremely obliging and accommodating for us to visit his property.  The farm has a well-maintained picnic area with toilets and braai facilities for visitors. I turned down the offer to have the braai fires lit as I did not want to take too much advantage of the farmers hospitality, but the next time if we do visit the farm, I will arrange for fires to be lit. 

The farmer also provided us with a tractor and trailer including a driver and conductor for participants who did not want to walk the outing, this mode of transport came in very useful. A total of 22 members arrived at the Spar meeting point at 6am and we proceeded in convey for the 10-minute drive to Sunhill farm. On arrival at the farm, white arrow markers were put in place to direct us to the picnic spot. 

At the picnic spot the group was divided into two groups, a group of four participants wanted to use the tractor and the rest proceeded to walk the farm towards the wetland and grassland areas.

Pics – The Tractor (Lorraine Retief)

The Walkers (Ronnie Herr)

Along the way the group were rewarded with a variety of sightings including White Fronted Bee-Eaters and Black-Crowned Tchagra.

White-fronted Bee-eater (Dot van der Merwe)

At the wetlands the group met up with the tractor group and were rewarded with a variety of birds including Diedericks Cuckoo, Red-Faced Cisticola, Rufous Winged Cisticola to name a few.

Diederick Cuckoo (Andrew Mather)

Rufous-winged Cisticola (Dot van der Merwe)

From the wetlands the group proceeded to the dams, and we were cautioned to be aware of crocodiles, fortunately we did not encounter any crocs along the way.

Looking for Crocodiles (Lorraine Retief)

The tractor and trailer became the ideal vantage point to view the dam. 

The dam yielded some specials including African Pygmy Geese and White -Backed Ducks amongst others.

African Pygmy Geese (Dave Rimmer)

White-backed Ducks (Dave Rimmer)

The day became fairly warm and most of the participants decided to take advantage of the tractor and trailer for the trip back to the picnic spot for a well-deserved refreshment and chat about the morning on the farm.

A total of 78 species was recorded for the outing.

This venue is well worth visiting again. In June / July the aloe garden, another one of the habitats on the farm, is in bloom and apparently it attracts seven species of sunbirds, well worth a visit.

The terrain is very flat and easy walking, the added advantage is the availability of the tractor and trailer for those who cannot walk far, and the location is very safe.

The Routes (Lorraine Retief)

Trip report by Ronnie Herr